Ask HN: Software developers, what is your side income?

[sr-ruby-dev]

I'm a software developer with nine years of experience. I'm forced to look for extra money because one of my family members requires expensive surgery.

I tried soccer betting in desperation, but I lost a few hundred bucks and decided to close my account.

I started working on creating a programming course that I will post to udemy when I finish.

Could you share tips on how to make a side income as a software developer?

[SuboptimalEng]

I started a YouTube channel in late 2019 focusing on making one LeetCode tutorial every week. Built up 300 subs until one viral reddit post bumped me up to 1.5k in 2 days.

Stopped posting videos in 2020 to focus on building a side-project but that never came to fruition. All the while my subscriber count still continued to grow (to ~4k) and I got monetized.

I started posting 1 vid/week again in mid-2020 and my earnings slowly grew from 10 cents a day up to 2$ per day.

In late 2020, I quit my job to focus on making coding tutorials on YouTube.

I post my YouTube stats on Twitter in the beginning of every month, here's what they looked like in Jan. and Feb. 2021: https://twitter.com/SuboptimalEng/status/1366808757121015812...

[schwartzworld]

I was going to find a side hustle, but instead I just found a better paying software job.

[jf22]

Same, I realized that spending 2 years to get to 1k in profit a month from a SaaS or something was a lot harder than just getting a job that paid me 12k more.

[gengarhunter]

For the entrepreneurial people, it’s rarely about the $$ amount.

The money made from a side project feels x100 better than a salary in increase.

[quantumofalpha]

1k a month passive profit from a SaaS is worth a lot more than 12k extra salary. A full time job requires full time labor to continue producing income. Whereas SaaS hopefully almost none to maintain it, has a better growth potential than your salary raises, and when you're tired of running it, it's an asset you might be able to sell to somebody else.

[xupybd]

It's vary rare to get a SaaS that requires no ongoing development.

[jokethrowaway]

That makes sense until you realise you've spent 10 years working and you'll have to work full-time for the foreseeable future because you don't have a 5k monthly (quasi) passive income

[jf22]

Passive income is rarely passive.

[tjs8rj]

Side hustles can also turn into a new job. What starts as a small YouTube channel can become 2x your annual salary with a fraction of the effort. A side project could turn into a full fledged business. While obviously uncommon with side projects, the chance this happens in the labor market is essentially 0.

[ahmaman]

One option is to do become a freelancer.

Switching from being an employee to freelancing has increased my income by 2-3x.

The actual work is very similar to a day job and projects tend to be full-time and last long.

In case you don't have an own network, consider joining a recruitment freelance network. Then you can quit your job when you find a suitable project.

It might feel like a huge risk but in reality it is not that risky considering the high demand for developers. You can always go back to your job.

Of course difficult to say if that is a viable option to you but I would seriously consider it, at least research it further. Best of luck!

[herbst]

Millions of people wake up every day with their credit cards in their hands. As the day goes they spend a little here and a little there. Sometimes they spend money for necessaries, sometimes for luxury and sometimes to make their life easier (i.e. save costs anywhere else)

If the average human makes like 3 transactions every day (just gussed) how hard can it really be to be the transaction for at least one of those millions of people.

What i am saying is it is very possible and not even to hard to earn some money.

A site that makes me a few hundred dollar a year compares a few glasses retailers and took a weekend to make (affiliate). Just dont stop, create services and at some point they will start to generate some money

[2rsf]

It is also very easy to loose some money on the way, sometimes in unexpected ways.

A friend for example, who is a talented interior designer, had a few paid customers but that made taxes more complicated (not the US) and required an accountant that cost more than what was earned. Another friend built a small site trying to sell lectures about something he is good at, again nothing significant came out of it and the expenses were bigger.

[herbst]

I feel sorry for them. Taxes really should not be hindering oneself. However taxes should reflect a portion of your earnings, so if your price is right i dont really see how taxes could stop anyone from earning money.

Only about 1 of 3 or 4 of my projects work out financially. And this is after doing this for 15+ years, 5+ exclusively. What i am saying is you cant expect it to just work on the first time. It took me over 5 years to reach the minimum threeshold of an adsense payout.

IMO most people never get there because they stop WAY to early. Earning money is less about your actual skills but more about your specific online selling skills that you only get from doing

[jokethrowaway]

I moved from my country (Italy) precisely because of taxation (and the relative dead business sector).

You can have a side project in the UK for very cheap (for now, pre COVID tax hike).

Go where you're treated best

[herbst]

I am honestly curious what makes italian/eu tax so much more complicated. In Switzerland i basically just have to find the right column to declare additional income on my tax sheet. (And add some exports from my billing tools)

[missedthecue]

The problem for me isn't getting sales. It's getting sustainable sales in excess of costs

[herbst]

I mean this depends on your projects. But if you are bootstrapping and have high costs you are prolly doing something wrong. At least in my point of view.

My digital projects rarely cost more than the domain and server they are running on (plus time that is). But again i dont know your projects

[nurturelabs]

Try my growth list. Put your side project on top directories and you can expect a continuous high intent traffic. https://gumroad.com/l/promotionlist

[turing_complete]

The fastest way to earn more money is probably to get a new job or do consulting on the side. Soccer betting is a terrible idea.

[porcc]

As a SWE, I often hear that the best way to make more money is to get a new job.

If you get an offer, it's almost guaranteed to be higher since you have been grandfathered into an old rate at your current job and have almost certainly increased in value since you started.

[Apotheos]

Consider travelling for treatment, the medical tourism industry is quite mature. You can get world class care for a fraction of the cost of other places.

[omarhaneef]

I think this is the right answer.

The NY times did an article about this years ago. The average hip surgery in the US was $75k. The cost to flying to Belgium (one of the most advanced, industrialized countries in the world), staying there for a week and getting the surgery was $13k.

I have seen much more dramatic examples.

[thrower123]

I bought a duplex as my first house, lived in one unit, and rented the other. Now I rent both units.

[machiaweliczny]

May I suggest considering applying to some charity instead? Here in Poland nobody can afford 9 million PLN for SMA for their kid but somehow people help.

[nscalf]

I do a ton of different things, but none of them are quickly accessible and all lean off my strengths. I love economics, and MMA, so I've been gambling and trading for years and getting better at them over time. Any unique venture you go into, expect to lose money for a significant period of time (I'm still losing money on making startups).

That being said, you have the most in demand skill set in the world, and you're highly experienced in it. As some others have said, you should extend out the period of the demand here and look for ways to lean on your software background to make more money. So here's a list of items you can take action on: * If you're in an expensive healthcare area, travel to get treatment * Take a loan to extend the time you need that full dollar amount by * Reach out to your network and see if you can find a contract on the side * Find a new job---last I read people are getting a 20% raise finding a new job versus a 4% raise annually. No clue how real those numbers are, but this is business and you are a financial fiduciary for your family. You have obligations to do what is financially sound to take care of your family, and you don't owe anything to a business.

Just a note about good financial hygiene here, at the end of the day it's easier to spend less money than it is to make more money. Making money on different things takes time and practice. I meal prep my food saving hundreds per month on take out. I don't buy a lot of things. I don't own a car, and my rent has been relatively low most of my life. I regularly run through my monthly spending reports and cancel recurring payments. I make all transactions through a credit card for the points and consistently pay it on time. Finances seems to be a game of small wins and allocations. 1% saved money with an average of 8% annual growth over a lifetime becomes a fortune.

[srckinase123]

Interested to know more about your MMA betting. I'm big on MMA too. If you are willing to share, what is your net profit from MMA betting?

Note to OP: I do not recommend gambling or betting to make your side income.

[nscalf]

I’ve done it in such a variety of ways and splitting bets with buddies that it’s become a giant pain to figure out the net profit, but it has been relatively good——it’s definitely not getting me to retire anytime soon. You learn where a lot of the randomness is (heavyweights who can kill each other in a single hit), and where people are able to have asymmetric control of the fight (overwhelmingly dominant wrestlers determining where the fight takes place). Betting on the better wrestler who isn’t extremely outclassed on the feet will probably get you close to +EV.

[patatino]

I would try something where you don't risk money. The chances are very high that you end up losing instead of making money.

How much money do you need to make, and what is the timeframe?

Try to analyze your spending. There can be a lot of money "made" by spending less.

[sr-ruby-dev]

Thank for your reply, I need 30000$ timeframe is 6 months.

[m88m]

my honest opinion here. extend your timeline. take a loan with good terms and also look for a better paying job. this will allow you to focus on your family member.

Good luck!

[patatino]

This is probably the best option. Try to get a loan without any interests from friends/relatives

[codpiece]

If I needed $30K in 6 months, I would spend 2-3 months marketing myself with the goal of 1-2 consulting projects delivered.

[_lol]

Hi OP, considering your constraints I recommend NOT engaging in any of the high variance activities like poker or crypto trading because it may well take you in the opposite direction.

Can you share a little about where you’re from so you can benefit from some country specific advice?

[xupybd]

How much do you really need to live on?

Can you reduce costs and do this with your day job?

If you were to deliver pizza at night could that plus your day job do it?

Or find a freelance contract?

[bigbillheck]

Lots of medical places are willing to do payment plans, is that an option here?

[pythonbase]

I built a number of projects ranging from job listing sites to content sites/blogs. These sites are running mostly on auto, generating enough, through ads and sponsorships, to cover the misc expenses.

Thought about starting a SaaS or something that has more steady income but receiving payments is a hassle in my part of the world. No PayPal or Stripe available.

[arisAlexis]

Poker, it took a long time to be profitable, many videos and studying but I like it and it's a hobby too. I was mainly playing online and live NLH tournaments. Not crazy money but you could make maybe an extra $1k/month. Your situation is different though, I did not need the money and I made a specific bankroll that I didn't mind losing if I was a failure.

[rozenmd]

I started writing helpful articles on MaxRozen.com, eventually wrote enough of them to make a book. Sold the book on gumroad.

I still write articles, but I also build https://OnlineOrNot.com on the side. SaaS is significantly harder to sell, but I enjoy the long-term focus.

[nurturelabs]

I am selling datasets to help makers grow their side project. Directly from gumroad

This is my first dataset - https://gumroad.com/l/promotionlist

It is a list of 200+ resources to post about your side-project and boost traffic and eventually revenue.

[ApolloRising]

Doctors always need stuff done in their practice that requires tech knowledge, maybe trade that for the surgeon fee and knock off a big part of that 30k in one shot. (Son of a doc, and have seen those types of offers sometimes work)

[sanketskasar]

Can you give an example just to get an idea about what kind of work can be found?

[ApolloRising]

Some need networking, backups, office it upgrades, some appointment reminder type apps, some automated notifications of important email. You just never know till you ask.

[blizkreeg]

Take on freelance work on the side if your day job isn’t too taxing.

[glonq]

I earn $5/month by recycling my pop cans.

[chovybizzass]

crypto swing trading, investing in stocks, and i do some part-time consulting.

I have a product review blog that makes around $200/mo in affiliate income.

[sebastianconcpt]

I don't know who downvoted you but here is an upvote.

I do crypto swing trading, investing in stocks too.

[2rsf]

would you recommend that for someone who is in urgent need of money and can't effort to lose the little he has?

[scsilver]

Anything but investing and swing trading

[emteycz]

How would someone get into crypto swing trading? All talk seems to be focused on value investing